#64 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

As a teen I used to love browsing the wooden bins at our local record store. Which LP should I take home for $3.25? Decisions, decisions. It was always a conundrum when parting with precious allowance money.

Of course I had been trained early on by my music-loving dad to treasure the vinyl discs that lived in all kinds of interesting cardboard sleeves (hello, Mantovani, Les Paul, Mario Lanza). As I began building my own record collection, I also grew quite enamored of album cover art — its own genre of inventive graphic design showcasing photos, illustrations, and typography — all on a neat 12″ x 12″ square.

Now that I think about it, some of my fave recording artists have animal names: Beatles, Monkees, Byrds, Steppenwolf, Buffalo Springfield, Iron Butterfly (and later, Eagles). So you can imagine how ecstatic I was to see Cece Bell’s, Animal Albums from A to Z (Walker Books, 2024) — a unique, wildly imaginative, uber creative tour-de-force that easily ranks in my top three favorite alphabet books of all time.

Letters. music. art. song lyrics. quirky. handmade. heartmade. humor. nostalgia. food (soup and pie!). Cece knows me. She’s checked all the boxes. Mind totally blown.

She opens her 64-page, all-ages ABC extravaganza with a tongue-in-cheek Introduction extolling the varied talents of imaginary animal musicians, enthusiastic to share 26 albums from her personal collection. She notes that they date from the 40’s to the 80’s, “the heyday of recorded animal music,” such records being difficult to find today.

Each eye-popping album cover is featured alongside the lyrics to a sample song. Album title, artist name, musical genre and record label all correspond to each letter, as do all the song titles, which are listed on the cover (alliteration gone wild). Specific musical eras are referenced via chosen colors, layout, imagery, and fonts (shades of The Beach Boys, Cream, Simon & Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane).

Arnie Dillow: Accordion Americana includes such gems as “Austin is Awesome in Autumn, at Least,” “The Adequate Avocado,” and “An Abundance of Affection for Alfredo,” in addition to the oddly odiferous sample song, “My Aromatic Armpit is Astonishing to All.” You’ll never guess what this particular armpit smells like: APPLE PIE! Did you ever think you could love an armpit more?! What a crazy-wonderful way to learn a passel of new words beginning with “A”!

And so it goes with other you-gotta-love-’em groups like the Barbershop Beagles, Hip-Hop Hedgehogs, Klezmer Kangaroos, Rascal Ratt and the Rockabilly Rabbits, and the Vampire Bat Vaudeville Revue (with Veronica Vole). Single artists include Ella Fontaine (Easy Listening), Ivanna Juana Irving (Inspirational), and Olga O’Brien (Opera). Don’t worry, Cece hasn’t forgotten Disco, Folk, Jazz, Psychedelic, Classical, Polka, New Age, and even Yodeling Yaks!!! Too much fun!!

Speaking of fun, I highly suspect Ms. Bell had way too much fun creating this book. She made all the final art by hand: “It’s a hodgepodge of hand-painted papers and collage, hand-painted lettering and cut-paper lettering (thanks to a katrillion #16 X-Acto blades) — golly, there’s even some embroidery.” She’s also graced front and back endpapers with oh-so-cool period memorabilia (posters, concert tickets, 45’s, buttons, signs, patches). Groovy, man.

Animal Albums from A to Z can be read as an alphabet book, poetry book, song album, art book, mini revue of mid to late 20th century popular music, a zany feel-good-anytime book, or all of the above. Kids will love the wide range of animal characters, glorious wordplay, wacky narratives and uproarious humor (ranging from silly to absurd), sure to keep them in perpetual giggles and guffaws. Pre-licked lemons or brownies, anyone? What about a booger in your lemonade? Should one unclog a toilet full of jelly beans? This is serious funny business, folks.

I LIKE TO LICK LEMONS

I like to lick lemons
I like to squeeze 'em too
I've added some sugar (and maybe
   a booger)
And mixed it through and through
Why don't you come on over?
This lemonade looks great!
Oh, please don't hesitate!

Pretty please, won't you join me?
We will have some fun
Lemonade in a cup, we'll slurp it
   right up
We'll bask beneath the sun
Why don't you come on over?
I licked the brownies too
Surely my germs
Don't make you squirm?
Surely, you'll have a few?

Did you just tell me no?
To brownies and lemonade?
You've had enough of me licking
   stuff?
But everything's homemade!
You really won't come over?
You're hanging up the phone?
Oh, sweetie pie
I'll say bye-bye
And lick lemons all alone

Although the lyrics hold up on their own, Cece took it one step further: she donned her music producer hat, hiring about 60 talented individuals to compose tunes, perform, and then record all 26 featured songs. Most of these musicians are from the Roanoke area and were connected to Cece during her years in high school marching bands. (Readers can listen to all the songs by scanning the QR code on the dedication page.)

Yes, I’ve listened to all 26 songs (funkily fabuloso!). My favorite? “Sometimes the Soup is Salty,” by the Sensational Sloth Boys from their album Slow Surfin’ 67. In addition to making the puppets and props, Cece did the animation and video editing (music composed, performed and engineered by Michael Andrews). Love me some SOUP!!

*

Wait, there’s even more. Back matter includes hilarious About the Artists career notes as well as charming Acknowledgements. In addition to older picture book readers, Animal Albums from A to Z holds appeal for adult record collectors, graphic design enthusiasts, and wobbly baby boomers who enjoy witty riffs on their fave musicians (especially since vinyl records have been making a comeback).

If you, too, have an aromatic armpit, like to spend your spare time in a state of clamma-damma-ding-dong, or have a tendency to fall in love with bearded weevils (don’t ask), you must have this book! Cece has clearly outdone herself and it’s possible we’ll never see the likes of such an original abecedarian ever again.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lunch date with new animal friends Mandy & the Meerkats. We’re doing meat loaf and macaroni with lots of mustard, doo-wah, doo-wah, diddly dum dum dum . . . 😀

*

ANIMAL ALBUMS FROM A TO Z
written and illustrated by Cece Bell
published by Walker Books, March 2024
Illustrated Abecedary for all ages, 64 pp.
*Includes About the Artist notes + Acknowledgements + QR code for audio files
**Starred Reviews** from Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and BookPage; New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Book 2024

🦁 Visit the Animal Albums Website to hear all the songs.

🐻 Check out the Cece TeeVee YouTube Channel to view more Animal Albums videos.

🐶 Enjoy this video of Cece Bell discussing the book, where she shares some of the album covers that inspired her:

*

*

Lovely and talented Carol Labuzzetta is hosting the Roundup at The Apples in My Orchard. Zoom on over to check out the full menu of poetic goodness being served up around the blogosphere this week. Happy December!

*

Certified authentic alphabetica. Made by hand with love, a few clams, a dancing dachshund, and oodles of delicious hot egg noodles.

---

*Interior spreads text and illustrations copyright © 2024 Cece Bell, published by Walker Books. All rights reserved.

**Copyright © 2024 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.